


For Your protection

by Darkangel19881



Category: Naruto
Genre: F/M, Family, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-28
Updated: 2016-09-30
Packaged: 2018-08-18 08:27:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,669
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8155628
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Darkangel19881/pseuds/Darkangel19881
Summary: What if Naruto left the village because he was losing control over nine tails, instead of Sasuke leaving in search of power. Can Team 7 find Naruto and help him when he desperately needs it. Mentions of Sexual abuse





	1. Chapter one

Feeling the sun shining on his face, Naruto Uzumaki opened his eyes and stared blankly out the window. Before stretching out widely on his bed. On this particular day, the 13 year old ninja was feeling lazy, normally he would have been up and training but this morning Naruto had felt a burning sensation in his stomach, around the area of his seal. Naruto frowned as the feeling grew worse, raising his shirt, Naruto placed a hand on his stomach, wincing at the heat he felt there. Naruto wondered who he was supposed to report this to. If Naruto wasn’t wasn’t careful reporting his seal malfunctioning, he would be killed. You see, Naruto housed the nine tailed demon that had nearly destroyed the Konoha village 13 years earlier. To save the village the Fourth Hokage had sealed the nine tails inside of baby Naruto.   
Of course, Naruto was supposed to have been seen as a hero for saving the village from further destruction. Instead, whenever the villagers came across him they saw the demon that had killed their loved ones when the nine tails had attacked. The villagers mistreated Naruto at every opportunity. Not caring that Naruto longed for just one friend that could understand his pain and loneliness, Naruto had hoped that he would find friendship among his teammates. So far though, Sakura Haruno and Sasuke Uchiha treated him like everyone else did; badly. Like he was stupid and would never make it as a ninja.   
Naruto sighed and sat up, pulling his shirt down as he went. Team 7 would be meeting soon and he didn’t want to keep them waiting as their sensei always did. Kakashi Hatake needed to learn how to tell time. Sighing again, Naruto made his way towards his closet. The only outfits he had hanging up were a couple bright orange jumpsuits that no one else wanted to wear. Tearing it off the hanger, Naruto proceeded to get dressed. He still wasn’t feeling all that great but Naruto was going to have to suffer through it if he wanted to be able to pay his rent. That was another thing Naruto had to deal with. His landlord liked to jack up his rent with no warning at all and if Naruto didn’t have the money, just one time, he would be kicked out. Naruto done well if he could even afford to pay his rent on time every month. Naruto could tell the old man Hokage but if he done that Naruto was sure he’d be kicked out for sure. He didn’t believe either of his teammates would be willing to let him stay with them for a little while until he got back on his feet.   
As Naruto exited his apartment, he felt the burning sensation in his stomach again. Wincing Naruto closed his eyes and waited for it to stop . once it did, Naruto continued to Team 7’s meeting spot. Once he got there he found Sasuke already practicing throwing his kunai. Sasuke grunted in greeting at Naruto and continued practicing.   
Naruto sighed, for once not feeling like competing with Sasuke. As Naruto sat down on the grass, his mind drifting to his current problem with the seal. Naruto feared what would happen if the nine tails were able to get out. Naruto knew he would die from the breaking of the seal, and the village would probably be attacked again. The villagers would then be sure to hate Naruto even more than they already did. Naruto wasn’t sure what his options really were, it was looking like it would end with his death no matter what the solution was. He wished he had someone to talk it over with but the moment that Naruto admitted that he was having problems with the seal. Someone would report it to the Hokage and Naruto would be locked away. Naruto was a person he didn’t deserve to be treated like a common criminal, he had done nothing wrong, after all Naruto had just been a baby. Sadly, Naruto was used to being treated badly by every person he came across. At this point in life, Naruto didn’t even understand what love or kindness even was. Naruto always tried to hide his hurt behind a grin but every once in a while his would slip and the sadness would show in his bright blue eyes. Naruto didn’t allow his mask to slip often usually after a particularly bad incident. Like the rape, he never told anyone about. Every year on his birthday some villager got drunk and forced themselves on Naruto, not caring that they were slowly breaking his spirit and his will to live.   
“Hey, Dobe.” Sasuke Uchiha interrupted his thoughts.   
“What do you want?” Naruto, asked annoyed. He knew Sasuke and Sakura didn’t like him, so why bother pretending otherwise.   
“Kakashi-sensei wants you to spar with me.” Sasuke replied equally annoyed. Naruto shook his head clearing his thoughts and sure enough Kakashi was standing in front of Naruto.   
“Sorry, Sensei.” Naruto said sheepishly rubbing the back of his head.  
“Something bothering you?” Kakashi asked, almost as if he knew that Naruto was having trouble with his seal. Naruto swallowed hard but shook his head. Looking away from his sensei, Naruto had the feeling that Kakashi knew that he was lying.   
Naruto pushed himself to his feet and followed Sasuke to an open patch. Taking a deep breath, Naruto readied himself to spar against Sasuke, feeling Kakashi’s eyes on his back. Naruto found it hard to focus on the fight with Sasuke.   
“Come on, Loser.” Sasuke sneered as he slammed a foot into Naruto’s stomach, making the teen gasp for air. Naruto swallowed a groan and attempted to block Sasuke’s next move only to fail and get hit in the face with Sasuke’s face.   
“I though you wanted to be the Hokage?” Sasuke sneered as he hit Naruto again. “At this rate you will always be the dead last!”   
“No, I won’t” Naruto grunted beginning to fill with rage with each hit that Sasuke gained.   
“You can’t even block my attacks?” Sasuke said “you have to be a thousand times better than this!” Naruto grunted as his stomach flooded with pain. Bending over, Naruto clutched his stomach, crying out in pain.   
“Naruto?” Sasuke asked, pausing his next attack. Concern growing in the Uchiha the longer he watched his teammate groaning in pain. Sasuke approached Naruto, unsure of what he could do to help, but wanting to help nonetheless. Reaching out, Sasuke went to place his hand on Naruto’s shoulder when Naruto raised his head and glared at Sasuke, Naruto’s eyes were no longer blue but a violent red burning with hatred. Naruto growled low in his throat, as red chakra began to form red claws around Naruto’s hands.   
As Sasuke started to call for Kakashi, Naruto leaped and swiped his claws across Sasuke’s chest, leaving deep bloody, claw marks. When Sasuke cried out in pain and fell to the ground, Naruto came to his senses and the red chakra disappeared. Seeing his teammate lying on the ground, Naruto was shocked, this was the last thing he had wanted to happen. He hadn’t wanted to hurt Sasuke. Swallowing hard, Naruto felt sick to his stomach. The Hokage would punish him for this for sure. Naruto felt a fear he’d never felt before, not even when he’d been raped, he was sure the Hokage would have him killed.   
“You, monster, what did you do?” Sakura screamed as she and Kakashi approached them from across the field.   
“I didn’t mean to.” Naruto stammered, afraid to look his teammate and sensei in the eye. When he looked up, disappointed eyes met his, making Naruto feel even more ashamed of himself.   
“Sakura, go find a medic” Kakashi ordered as he kneeled down beside Sasuke.   
“How did this happen Naruto?” Kakashi asked as he attempted to apply pressure to Sasuke’s wounds. “You told me you were find earlier, you shouldn’t have lied.”  
“But….” Naruto started.   
“But nothing” Kakashi snapped “you put your teammate’s life at risk because you lied.” tears filled Naruto’s eyes at the harshness of Kakashi’s voice. Without thinking Naruto turned and ran towards the village gates unsure of where he would go from there. He only knew he could no longer stay in Konoha. 

What did you think? Should I continue? Thanks for reading and reviewing.


	2. Chapter 2

Tear fell down Naruto’s face as he ran. He had never intended for this to happen no matter what Kakashi thought, it wasn’t like someone had told him all about the nine tails and what it could potentially do. If Naruto didn’t have so many trust issues maybe he could have found someone who would be willing to talk about it with him. Naruto didn’t want to believe that his Sensei could so easily blame him when truth Naruto didn’t really have any clue what was going on.   
A few miles away from Konoha, Naruto realized he was still wearing his leaf headband, knowing he probably wouldn’t be allowed back in his village. Naruto ripped it away from his forehead and allowed it to fall into the dirt. Naruto knew his life as a ninja was over before it even began. No one would want him around their kids when word of what had happened with Sasuke got out.   
Running again, Naruto refused to look back as he left his headband in the dirt. Naruto wanted to cry for his broken dreams but he was afraid if he started he’d never stop. He had to think of this as a mission to find a better life, but still it didn’t help the ache in his heart that longed for someone to tell him that it was going to be okay, that he didn’t have any reason to be afraid. Naruto just wasn’t sure how he was supposed to leave behind the memories of pain and cruelty. How did one forget that they had been raped time and time again because of something they carried within them? How was he ever supposed to forget all the cruel things that had been said to him? If his team members knew Naruto suffered maybe they wouldn’t have been so quick to be so harsh to him.   
Naruto paused his running when he had gone a few more miles, feeling exhausted he didn’t know what he was going to do. He was afraid of showing up in another village knowing that as soon as Konoha realized he was gone they would label him a missing Nin. Naruto was sure they would send his own Sensei to kill, that thought made Naruto sad. He had always liked Kakashi even if he did spend more time with Sasuke. Naruto supposed that Sasuke was the more talented of the two. Now Naruto would never find out who would be better, because if Naruto revealed his skills he would be killed for sure.   
Sighing, Naruto decided to stop for the evening. He had already put a good distance between himself and Konoha. As Naruto lay at the base of a tree he wondered what he was going to do. He wouldn’t betray Konoha by going to an enemy village, though he thought it would have served them right if he did. Naruto needed to be able to survive in the wilderness because it looked like he was going to be here for a while. Maybe even the rest of his life (if the nine tails got lose, he wouldn’t live long to be sure.)   
He wondered if there was anyone out here who could help him with the seal, if that was the case if he found them maybe then he could return to Konoha. Though he wasn’t sure why he would want to. The villagers took pleasure in raping him over and over again. The more Naruto thought about it it, he wondered if that was why he was starting to lose control over nine tails. Naruto guessed that that was probably the main reason, the seal would weaken when Naruto was in a great deal of pain. Unbeknownst to the members of Team 7, Naruto had been raped and left bleeding in the streets the night before. At this point it was a miracle that Naruto even held onto even a little bit of humanity. Naruto endured enough pain that it would make a normal person go insane. Naruto had never truly intended to hurt Sasuke but Sasuke had gotten too close to him. It was only a matter of time before Sasuke saw through Naruto’s facade. Naruto refused to burden his teammates with the reality of what Naruto had to deal with. Although, Naruto supposed Sasuke had his family to help him understand Naruto’s pain if he really wanted to know. Truth be told, Naruto wanted someone to care enough to try and find out what was going on. Naruto just wanted someone to care period.   
Even as Naruto lay there, loneliness began creeping in and Naruto wanted to cry for what seemed like the millionth time. Why didn’t he deserve the same that love that he had observed his teammates receiving? Was he really the monster everyone thought him to be? Naruto clinched his hands into fists. It hurt so badly knowing he wouldn’t ever have any affection in his life. Closing his eyes, Naruto tried to sleep, however sleep refused to come and Naruto couldn’t force the hurt and loneliness away. It filled him until Naruto could feel a tear fall down his cheek. This was the loneliest that Naruto had ever been. It wasn’t a feeling that he liked and he knew out here away from everyone it would only get worse. Naruto wondered if he should just give up and go back, but then his mind drifted back to the night before, memories of being held down as Naruto pleaded for them to not hurt him. Memories of the harsh pain of them shoving themselves inside of Naruto, not caring about the damage they were causing. Naruto remembered trying to shove the man off of him, but someone had kicked him in the face, causing him to black out. After that Naruto had suffered through three more men forcing themselves on him. When they had finished, they had left a broken and bleeding Naruto lying in the alley. Naruto had somehow stumbled home through the pain, aware that he was bleeding quite badly. He had seriously considered killing himself that night knowing that no one would care if he died, not even his teammates.   
The next day Naruto had been stiff and slow in his movements, which had been why Sasuke had been able to so easily beat Naruto. With Kakashi and Sakura across the field, Naruto had known that they wouldn’t notice anything unusual. Then the entire incident with Sasuke had happened and Naruto didn’t have to worry about anyone finding anything out.   
Naruto sighed and shifted his position, he didn’t think he would ever feel comfortable. Those men had ripped him open by forcing themselves on him. He wondered why the fox wasn’t healing him like he usually did, maybe it was because Naruto refused to let the fox out to harm the ones that caused Naruto such pain. The longer Naruto sat there the more he began to think about his teammates. He wondered about Sasuke’s condition. Naruto hadn’t thought that he had hurt Sasuke that badly but maybe he had accidently killed his teammate. He knew as soon as Sasuke’s parents heard about what happened, they would be hunting him down, especially Itachi who was extremely protective of his little brother. If Itachi caught up with Naruto, he’d be dead for sure. He wondered what it was like to have someone care that much about you that they would hunt down the person that had hurt the one that they loved. Feeling a sharp pang in his heart, Naruto tried to steer his thoughts in another direction. Thinking about the things he’d never have only served to depress him even further.  
Closing his eyes, Naruto drifted off to sleep. Almost immediately was transported back to the alley.  
Rough hands were on him, shoving him to the ground.   
“It’s the fox demon” one sneered while kicking Naruto in his ribs.   
“I hear the demon is in heat this time of year.” another man joked causing fear to feel Naruto’s heart and making him attempt to fight harder.   
“You’re not going anywhere, little fox.” the first man said as he reached out and pinned one of Naruto’s arms to the ground, while another man reached out and grabbed his other arm and held him pinned face down on the dirty alley floor. The third man tore Naruto’s orange jumpsuit off of him, leaving him naked. Naruto tried to fight again, as a feeling of helplessness settled over him as someone slammed a foot into his ribs again. Naruto can only cry out in pain as he is slammed into from behind repeatedly.   
“Like it rough don’t you little fox?” the man laughed as he pulled out and rammed himself back in.  
“Please stop!” Naruto cried out knowing that his pain was only getting started.  
With a jerk, Naruto sat up gasping for air. It had only been a dream, but it had been like going through it a second time. Breathing hard, Naruto wiped at the sweat that covered his forehead. He hoped now that he was away from the village he would never have to go through that again.   
Let me out! An evil voice said from within Naruto’s mind. Let me out and I will pay those men back for hurting you!  
“No” Naruto grunted as the seal began burning again. “I won’t let you hurt them!”  
Why not? The fox asked It’s not like anyone in that village cares about what you go through.  
“Maybe not” Naruto said “But I still care about what happens to them, especially my teammates.”  
Your teammates are blind as bats. They’ve never once cared about anything you’ve had to go through.   
“I never wanted to burden them with my pain.” Naruto snarled. “They don’t deserve to have to live with the shame that I do.” he growled. “No one should ever have to live with that!” Naruto knew that his teammates didn’t care for him, but that didn’t mean that Naruto wouldn’t do anything to protect them, even if it meant Naruto had to leave the village to do it. Naruto would never hurt another teammate as long as he lived.   
Meanwhile back in Konoha

Sasuke regained consciousness in the hospital, his chest wrapped in bandages. For a moment he wondered what had happened for him to end up in the hospital.   
“I see you’re finally awake little brother.” he heard Itachi say from somewhere on his left.   
“What happened?” Sasuke asked “I remember I was sparring with Naruto. Why is my chest so sore?” Itachi sighed wondering what to tell Sasuke.  
“Naruto appears to be having some trouble with the seal that is keeping the village from being destroyed by nine tails. It would seem that Naruto allowed the fox to nearly take complete control over him.” he settled on finally saying. Sasuke frowned.   
“What would happen to make the seal fail like that?” he wondered though at the moment if Sasuke came across Naruto he would kill him just for the amount of pain that he was in.  
“I’m not exactly sure, but I bet Naruto had signs of the seal failing before now.” Itachi said. Sasuke’s eyes narrowed he was plenty angry at Naruto, his teammate should have known something was going on with his seal and should have told the proper authorities so that it could get taken care of.   
“You can have your turn at him when I finish with him.” Itachi said darkly his voice promising pain that Naruto wouldn’t likely ever recover from. “and probably after mom and dad finish with him too.”  
“If their involved nothing good can happen for Naruto.” Sasuke said.  
“Are you kidding?” Itachi asked “They want him to be executed but I bet they will settle for jail time.”  
“Where is he anyways?” Sasuke asked. Itachi shrugged.  
“No one knows. He ran off and no one has seen him since.”   
No one cares either Sasuke thought and in that moment he almost felt sorry for the other 13 year old.


	3. Chapter 3

Naruto managed to sleep well for the rest of the night. When he woke up, he wasn’t as sore as he was the day before. He supposed he should be grateful for that, he hated the feeling that was left after someone had used him.   
As he stood and brushed himself off Naruto couldn’t help but think about his teammates, especially Sasuke. Naruto was certain they probably hated him even more. Naruto hadn’t wanted any of this to happen. He did want his teams acceptance, something he was sure he would never get now. Hearing his stomach grumble Naruto set off in search of food. It didn’t take him long to find a river where he proceeded to attempt to catch some fish.  
An hour later exhausted Naruto sat on the shoreline, empty handed. Naruto had never thought that fishing would be so hard, or so fruitless. He was still hungry.   
Sighing, Naruto looked up at the sky. He couldn’t help wondering if his life would ever get better? Would he ever have to not fight for his basic needs?  
Shoving himself back to his feet, Naruto decided he would probably be better off finding some kind of wild berries or something. Naruto supposed he should have been used to feeling hungry, after all Naruto could remember nights where he had gone to bed hungry. It wasn’t a pleasant feeling but Naruto was used to it.   
Shoving his hands into his pockets, Naruto shuffled down the path once more, still unsure of where he was going to go. He wondered for the thousandth time if he hadn’t made a mistake by leaving without trying to explain himself. Was Naruto really starting to believe the rumors about him being evil? Naruto frowned he had always been down on himself but he had tried to be confident despite the many people who tried to knock the confidence out of him. So when had Naruto’s confidence began to falter? The first time he had been raped or the sixth? Naruto began to realize that he had faked most of his confidence so that his teammates wouldn’t guess that there was something going on with him. Naruto supposed it was his way of trying to protect his teammates from his harsh reality. He never wanted them to know how shameful his life really was. If Sasuke knew how weak Naruto really was, he would have chosen someone else to be his rival. After all who allowed themselves to be raped not once but multiple times? If Naruto had been strong enough he could have prevented it from happening in the first place. Naruto was almost certain that Sasuke would have never found himself in that kind of situation.   
Shaking his head Naruto looked up at the sky. He was so lost in thought that he didn’t hear the small group of Nin behind him. He only knew he was in trouble when he was yanked back roughly and slammed hard against a tree, causing Naruto to cry out in shock and pain. Naruto stared at the men wondering if they would treat him like the men in the village did, like a sex toy. Fear crept up Naruto’s spine the longer the Nin didn’t speak. They stared as if they could read Naruto’s mind. If that was the case though, they should have been able to see the fear that pulsed through him. Naruto was afraid they would hurt him and then dump him where he couldn’t be found and helped.  
“What’s a little boy like you doing out here by yourself?”  
“I’m traveling.” Naruto answered.  
“Shouldn’t you have a parent or someone with you?” the Nin asked.  
“I’m an orphan.” Naruto answered “I have no one who cares about me or what happens to me.” Naruto said realizing that he probably shouldn’t have told them that. Naruto really had a bad feeling when he saw the sinister grin that slowly spread across the Nin’s face.   
“Itachi wants us to bring to bring this punk to him” a blonde haired man that was helping hold Naruto said.   
“But he didn’t mention in what condition.” the other guy sneered. “besides this little boy needs to be taught a lesson.”  
“I’ve been taught ‘lessons’ all my life.” Naruto said attempting to swallow his fear. “I don’t need to be taught anymore.”  
“Maybe you shouldn’t have hurt Itachi’s little brother then.” the man snarled before punching Naruto in the face.   
“Didn’t mean to.” Naruto cried out as he was pulled away from the tree and thrown to the ground. Naruto threw out his hands attempting to break his face, only for his wrist to snap as he landed.  
“Hold him down Deidara.” Kisame ordered before stripping Naruto. When Kisame finished with Naruto he pulled away and got dressed. Before he proceeded to beat Naruto until he was unconscious.   
“Did you really have to go that far?” Deidara asked.  
“The punk deserved it. You saw what this kid done to Sasuke.” Kisame hissed as he threw the unconscious Naruto over his shoulder.   
“Somehow I don’t think the punishment fit the crime.” Deidara muttered as he followed Kisame through the forest. He felt sorry for Naruto because when they had left in search of Naruto. Itachi was ready to kill him. Somehow Deidara didn’t think Itachi would be expecting them to deliver the kid naked and bloody.   
Thirty minutes away from Konoha they arrived at the clearing they had agreed to meet Itachi at. Itachi was standing in the middle of the clearing with his arms crossed and an angry expression on his face. Naruto cried out in pain as he hit his injured wrist.   
Looking up Naruto cringed at the anger that he saw in Itachi’s eyes. Slowly despite the pain in his backside, Naruto attempted to curl up in a ball. Crying out in pain, Naruto could only tremble and wait for Itachi’s wrath.   
Itachi frowned down at the body in front of him and Naruto cringed again when Itachi got within a couple of inches of him. Kneeling down, Itachi reached out and lifted Naruto’s face to meet his. He could feel Naruto tremble and see the terror in the boy’s eyes. Itachi knew it wasn’t just fear of what Itachi would do to him. It was a fear that went deep down. This was a kid that had been terrified for his life for a long time.  
Releasing Naruto’s face. Itachi took a step back and looked Naruto over. The boy had been severely beaten and from the scars that littering his body, Naruto had been getting beaten for a long time. Itachi’s eyes narrowed as he came across the dried blood between Naruto’s thighs.  
“What happened to him? Why is he naked?” Itachi asked his anger melting away and concern for the clearly terrified boy taking its place.  
“Don’t know.” Kisame answered “we found him like this. He was on the open road and he was alone. Anything could happen to a kid when their alone.” Itachi frowned, something about Kisame’s story just seemed made up but he couldn’t put his finger on it. For now though he wasn’t going to question it.   
Sighing, Itachi wondered what he was going to do. He didn’t think it would be safe for Naruto to return to Konoha at the moment, at the same time Itachi couldn’t allow the 13 year old to wonder around the forest with no food and no roof over his head.   
Itachi watched as Naruto’s trembling grew worse when Kisame approached. Naruto was shaking so hard that Itachi was surprised that you couldn’t hear his teeth clacking together. Even as he watched Itachi saw Naruto close his eyes in pain and he tried to curl up in a smaller ball. Itachi could see see the seal on Naruto’s stomach turning red.   
Naruto cried out in pain and struggled to not give in to the fox’s demands. He wouldn’t harm anyone else no matter how much they hurt him.   
Tears filled Naruto’s eyes, as he fought the urge to scream. His body was in agony from the earlier rape and beating. It was apparent that they fox had no intention of healing him.   
Itachi scowled at Kisame before approaching Naruto. Removing his cloak, Itachi threw it over the trembling boy. Naruto’s eyes were still clinched shut tightly in pain.   
“What are you going to do with him?” Kisame asked “your brother deserves payback for what this punk did.”  
“It seems to me.” Itachi said slowly “that he’s been paid back multiple times in fact. I am going to take him somewhere he might be able to get some help.” Itachi didn’t tell them that the Third Hokage had asked him to find Naruto because he had been worried about the state of Naruto’s mind. Itachi was going to have to tell him it was worse than he thought.   
Itachi remembered being called to the Hokage’s office from the hospital. At the time Itachi had been furious and was ready to kill the young blonde, but then he had found himself in front of the Hokage.   
“I know you’re angry at Naruto for what happened to your brother.” The Hokage had started “You have every right to be.” Itachi had only narrowed his eyes wondering where the Hokage was going with this.   
“I believe Naruto is having trouble with his seal.” The Hokage said after a moment’s silence. “I also believe that someone is hurting the boy and he is too afraid to tell us.”  
“The villagers know not to hurt Naruto or they will be punished.” Itachi said.  
“That laws not going to stop someone who doesn’t care about the law. The point is Naruto is losing control because he’s in a great deal of pain.”  
“What do you want me to do about it?” Itachi asked coldly “He caused Sasuke a lot of pain.”  
“Sasuke also has a family to help him heal. Naruto has no one. He’s never had anyone. All Naruto ever feels is the hatred of those around him. Remember while you are angry, that Naruto is a lonely boy desperate for any kind of affection.”   
“Again I know this.” Itachi said. “What do you want from me.”   
“Naruto’s run off and I fear for the state of his mind. I need you to bring him back.”  
“It’s probably not going to be safe to bring him back here.” Itachi pointed out. “My parent’s are out for blood.”  
“I will be talking to them but until they understand I want you to take him to Suna. The kazekage has offered him protection.” The Hokage said.  
“For how long?” Itachi asked. He didn’t want to be away from his little brother for a long time.  
“As long as it takes, to fix the issues with the seal. I know someone who is good with that kind of thing. He’s going to meet you in Suna. Hopefully he can fix what’s going on.”   
“Even if he does fix it. There will still be villagers who don’t want Naruto back.”Itachi pointed out.   
“That’s true.” The Hokage agreed “but there is another point to this mission but it’s up to you to figure it out.”  
Itachi stared at the quivering ball of fear in front of him. Originally his plan had been to ignore the Hokage’s orders and take him to his parents. But now looking at the child, Itachi didn’t think he had the heart to do it. There was something about the boy’s fear that eased the flames of Itachi’s anger. He didn’t care who you were, no one deserved to be scared for their life.   
Sighing, Itachi knew then he would be going to Suna with Naruto. Bending down, Itachi picked up the cloak covered Naruto. Naruto automatically stiffened in fear and Itachi could feel Naruto’s rising panic and knew that at any moment Naruto was going to start fighting him at risk of hurting himself further.   
“Sleep” Itachi murmured as he used his sharingan on Naruto whose eyes immediately closed and his body went limp. The journey to Suna had begun.

Thanks for reading and reviewing!  
Itachi will find out about Kisame hurting Naruto, but it won’t be for a few more chapters. Thanks again for reading.


	4. Chapter 4

Naruto woke up to the realization that he was being carried. Looking up Naruto found himself looking into an emotionless Itachi Uchiha's face. Naruto swallowed hard, trying not to show his fear. If Itachi had caught up to him this quickly nothing good could be in store for Naruto. Groaning Naruto wondered why he had thought running away would be a good idea, killing himself would have saved Naruto a ton of pain, not to mention he would never have to face his teammates or the villagers again.

Naruto's stomach gave him a sharp burning sensation that made Naruto cry out in pain.

"Kill yourself brat" the fox called out gleefully "kill yourself and let me go."

"No" Naruto moaned causing Itachi to look down at him.

"Something wrong?" Itachi asked, feeling the heat coming from Naruto's seal. Naruto shook his head mutely. He wasn't going to admit to his enemy that he was having trouble with his seal. Naruto would suffer in silence first.

"I'm not your enemy, kid" Itachi hissed under his breath "You have nothing to fear from me." Naruto found that hard to believe, Itachi was Sasuke's older brother. Everyone knew how protective Itachi was of Sasuke. Besides why would anyone care about what happened to Konoha's fox demon? No one had ever cared before when Naruto had been getting beaten every night. His own teammates didn't even question the fading was starting to see that maybe the villagers were right and he didn't deserve to have any love or affection in life.

Scowling, Naruto stared out at the passing scenery. Every once in a while Naruto would hit his broken wrist and gasp in pain. Aside from that Naruto refused to talk, he didn't know where he was being taken to, but he was sure it wouldn't be good for him. Naruto wondered how much more suffering he would have to endure before his life came to an end. At 13 Naruto had already been through more pain than any adult and Naruto had the feeling his suffering wouldn't come to an end anytime soon.

If Naruto could make the villagers see that he was more than the demon he housed than maybe he could slowly gain their respect. The only problem was you couldn't make someone see something they didn't want to see. As Naruto gasped in pain again from hitting his broken wrist, Itachi frowns down at him.

"Why is the fox not healing you?" Itachi knew the abilities that carrying the fox gave Naruto.

"I won't let him out." Naruto answered refusing to meet Itachi's eyes. "I don't want to hurt anyone."

"Yet you hurt Sasuke" Itachi said without any anger in his voice.

"I didn't mean to" Naruto said softly. "I'm not a hundred percent certain why the seals messing up." which was a lie but Naruto wasn't about to tell that to Itachi.

"How is he by the way?" Naruto asked meekly.

"He'll be okay, he's going to have a few scars though." Itachi replied not missing the guilty look in Naruto's eyes.

"I honestly never intended to hurt anyone. I guess I am the demon everyone seems to think I am." Naruto murmured before closing his eyes and going back to sleep.

Itachi frowned down at the sleeping boy in his arms. Naruto carried enough guilt for ten people. Itachi wasn't so sure it was all that healthy for him. The Hokage was right to be worried about the state of Naruto's mind. Itachi wouldn't be surprised if the kid tried to take his own life before the end of the mission. Itachi would have to be extra careful to keep that from happening.

Itachi had the feeling he knew what the other part of the mission was supposed to be about and Itachi didn't really care too much about it. Maybe he should have taken Naruto to his parents. Then again Itachi wasn't sure, Naruto was scared enough as it was, his father would probably traumatize him for the rest of his life. As it was Itachi was surprised the kid didn't cower in fear constantly after the abuse that he has already suffered.

Taking note of the setting sun, Itachi called for the small group to set up camp. It wouldn't be good for Naruto to continue to travel in his condition.

Setting him down, Itachi helped the others get their tents set up before leaving to go fetch firewood. When he returned Naruto was awake and was watching Kisame and Deidara with a weary expression on his face. Itachi wondered briefly what that was about before walking over and sitting down beside Naruto.

"You mind telling me how you got hurt?" Itachi asked when he felt Naruto's gaze on him.

"Not really" Naruto answered quietly while cradling his broken wrist to his chest. "besides it's nothing I didn't deserve." Itachi scowled wondering if Naruto truly believed that he had deserved to be raped and beaten. What had this kid suffered through to make him believe it? How had no one ever tried to ease Naruto's suffering. It couldn't be just because of the fox. Could it be that the villagers were just that cruel and evil? Itachi was starting to get a picture of the village that he didn't like. That they allowed one of their own to suffer needlessly angered Itachi, who had the feeling that he had no idea just how much Naruto had gone through so far. Itachi was determined to find out before the end of the mission though even if he had to force Naruto to tell him.

"Why do you believe you deserve to be hurt?" Itachi asked. Naruto snorted and pulled Itachi's cloak tighter around him.

"I'm evil didn't you know" Naruto refused to look Itachi in the eyes. "I could have killed your brother. It's a miracle that I didn't." Itachi frowned again he wanted to tell Naruto that intent was everything, and that Naruto had said it himself, he hadn't intended to hurt Sasuke. Somehow Itachi didn't think Naruto would believe him. The kid was already lost in thought again as he stared into the flames. This wasn't just a mission to fix the seal, it was a mission to save an innocent kid's life. The scary part was Itachi didn't know if he could. Sitting back Itachi looked up at the sky. Was it really fair to ask Naruto to continue to bear the hate of the villagers, especially since Naruto had done nothing to earn it? More importantly could Itachi allow Naruto to take his own life and do nothing about it? Itachi thought about the situation if it was Sasuke in Naruto's shoes. Could he allow his own little brother to kill himself? The answer was no, there was no way in hell that Itachi would let Sasuke kill himself, Itachi would fight for him until it killed him if need be.

Looking over at Naruto Itachi understood what the Hokage had been telling him. Naruto had absolutely no one even willing to try to fight for him. That wasn't fair to Naruto who tried to fight for his acceptance. How could Itachi be angry at Naruto for something he'd never had any control over? Sasuke would have scars but he would live and maybe Itachi could get Sasuke to accept Naruto as a friend. Everyone deserved to have someone they could depend on and trust.

Sighing, Itachi wondered how much more complicated the mission was going to get before the end. He looked over at Naruto who was still staring at the flames lost in thought.

"Better get some sleep kid" Itachi said standing up "we still have a journey ahead of us tomorrow."

"Somehow I don't think I will be sleeping" Naruto muttered. He still wasn't sure that he could trust Itachi and he knew he couldn't trust Kisame.

"Nobody here is going to hurt you" Itachi said loudly making sure Kisame and Deidara could hear him. "If they try they will answer to me."

Naruto shrugged and looked down, he wished it would be that easy for him to trust those around him. But Naruto's experiences had taught him that everyone could hurt him.

"I wish I could believe that" Naruto said quietly "too much has already happened."

Itachi couldn't help but feel bad for the kid. Naruto was obviously used to people hurting him. Still, Itachi wouldn't allow it on his watch. He wondered if the Hokage expected him to be able to teach Naruto to trust those around him. If that were the case Itachi didn't have anywhere near enough time. Naruto had been abused so often he just came to expect that everyone hated him and wanted to abuse him.

"Naruto" Itachi said quietly "Not everyone is out to hurt you."

"Maybe not from where your standing." Naruto said "but put yourself in my shoes. Everyone hates me and the way they look at me makes me wonder if you don't deserve everything that happens. Besides don't tell me you weren't pissed about what happened to Sasuke." Naruto added avoiding Itachi's eyes as he climbed to his feet and shuffled into the tent next to Itachi's.

Itachi sighted, Naruto had a point about Itachi having wanted to hurt him. Itachi had been angry about what had happened to Sasuke but the more that Itachi watched Naruto, especially tonight Naruto had refused to look at either Kisame or Deidara. Which had immediately set off warning bells in Itachi's head. It made him think of how Kisame had shown up with a naked and barely conscious Naruto over shoulder. As Itachi entered his tent he wondered if there was more to Kisame's story than what Kisame had told him. It was true that anything could happen to a kid on the open road, but things had been peaceful as of late. There was no reason for them to suspect that something like that had occurred. There was something about Kisame's story that was bugging Itachi but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. If he found out that Kisame had liked to him about what had happened there would be hell to pay.

As Itachi lay there thinking about his current situation and how to proceed from there. He hoped the Hokage's contact could do something about Naruto's issues with the seal. Otherwise Itachi was afraid he would have to kill Naruto, and at this point Itachi really didn't want it come to that. He didn't want Naruto to have to die needlessly because of something that Naruto had never had any control over. It had been unfair to not even give the kid a choice, to bear a burden that was too heavy for him to bear.

As Itachi lay there thinking, he heard screams coming from Naruto's tent. Scowling, Itachi grabbed a kunai and crawled out of his tent. Upon entering Naruto's tent, he noticed the kid was alone, but was thrashing wildly about.

"Leave me alone! Stop! It hurts!" the agony in Naruto's voice damn near broke Itachi's heart, proving his theory that Naruto's abuse had been going on longer than anyone had expected.

"I'm not a demon." Naruto cried out, tears falling from his closed eyes. "Stop! No more! It hurts!" Naruto continued to cry out, making Itachi angrier the more he listened. Shaking his head, Itachi reached out and placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder and shook him awake.

Naruto screamed and pulled away from Itachi's hand, going so far as to drag himself into a corner and pull his knees to his chest.

"Don't touch me" Naruto snaps as Itachi reaches out a hand. "Please don't touch me." Naruto buried his head in his knees his body shaking from the violence of his sobs. Would he ever be free from his nightmares?

"Shut that kid up!" Itachi head Kisame shout over Naruto's loud cries. Scowling, Itachi turned away not sure how he could help Naruto at the moment. Exiting the tent, Itachi found Kisame standing outside of his own tent, scowling.

"Shut the kid up Itachi or I will" Kisame snapped.

"You won't lay a finger on him" Itachi growled "you even try it and I'll kill you!" that being said Itachi reentered Naruto's tent . Naruto was still in a corner shaking. Itachi wondered if there was anything he could do for him. Watching the kid suffer silently was harder than Itachi thought. How long had Naruto suffered through this by himself?

Sighing, Itachi sat down by the entrance since he knew that Naruto wouldn't want Itachi to be too close to him while the memories were running through Naruto's head. Itachi couldn't imagine how bad they were. He didn't think he would last a minute in Naruto's shoes without having already lost control over nine tails.

"I can't keep living like this" Naruto's voice interrupted Itachi's thoughts. "I'm no good to anyone the way I am." Naruto continued to mutter to himself.

"That's not true" Itachi spoke quietly so he wouldn't spook Naruto. "your team depends on you."

"I'm better off dead." Naruto muttered ignoring Itachi completely. "Everyone thinks I'm a demon." Itachi wondered then if he would even be able to save Naruto's life. The more important question was should he save it? Naruto had suffered through things that no one could even imagine. Naruto was the one that had to live with the memories of what had been done to him. Was it fair of them to continue to make Naruto go through that? Itachi almost wanted to put the kid out of his suffering himself. Itachi wondered how long Naruto had been hiding his nightmares? He seriously doubted that Naruto's team knew anything about it. They didn't seem to know much about Naruto at all. The longer Itachi watched Naruto the more he wondered what he should do. He wasn't ready to completely disregard the Hokage's orders but he wasn't sure what to do about Naruto either. Surely, the Hokage had had some kind of idea of what had been happening to Naruto. The question of the hour was why hadn't anything been done to stop it? Itachi knew the Hokage was a busy man but should have put a stop to this crap before it had ever gotten this bad.

Itachi remained with Naruto until the kid had finally moved out of the corner and back into his sleeping bag. Once Naruto had closed his eyes and his breathing had evened out. Itachi returned to his own tent. Where he remained awake for the rest of the night.

The next morning, tired of being unable to sleep, Itachi dragged himself out of his tent to find Naruto sitting in front of an open fire. A lost expression on his face and a sharp kunai in his hands. Itachi didn't say anything but he moved a little closer in case Naruto tried anything. He hadn't been around Naruto long but Itachi could already feel himself becoming quite protective over the young blonde. Itachi didn't want Naruto to hurt himself but if something happened and Naruto managed it. Itachi would understand after all, a person could only live with so much suffering. Naruto don't think anyone wouldn't care of you died. I promise you someone would Itachi thought before walking over and sitting down across from Naruto. From the look in Naruto's eyes Itachi could tell he wouldn't very likely get any conversation from the kid. That worried Itachi he couldn't allow Naruto to get lost in his thoughts, he couldn't allow Naruto to focus on his depression. Otherwise Naruto would never make it back to Konoha alive.

"Are you going to tell me who hurt you now?" Itachi asked after a moments silence.

"It doesn't matter." Naruto answered as he flipped the kunai in the air. "No one cared before so why bother caring now." Naruto looked into the flames. It was getting harder to maintain the facade that he wasn't emotionally damaged from everything he had been through. Though, Naruto did have the feeling that Itachi saw right through it. It wasn't a feeling that Naruto liked.

"Why are you protecting them?" Itachi asked "I can do something about it if you just let me."

"What good would it do?" Naruto asked bitterly "It won't change how they feel about me. I will still have to live with their hatred."

"Still they deserve to be punished." Itachi muttered.

"I can't deny that." Naruto agreed "But if I do anything about it they will find some excuse to have me put to death."

"You can't tell me that's not something you haven't been thinking about" Itachi pointed out.

"Its been on my mind more lately." Naruto agreed "but I don't want to be a disappointment to whomever my parents were."

"Somehow I don't think they would be disappointed. I think they would be proud of how you have handled your life up until this point." Itachi said.

"There's nothing to be proud of here." Naruto said looking up at the sky. He didn't bother telling Itachi that he already had a plan and he would be putting it into motion as soon as he got the opportunity. Naruto would finally be free and there would be nothing that anyone could do. Not that anyone would care what he done. The villagers, his teammates, they would all be glad he was gone, especially Kakashi-Sensei he wouldn't have to train the fox demon anymore. He could concentrate on training Sasuke to the best of his ability.

Naruto gave a weak smile at the thought of his teammates. Naruto really was making the best decision for all those involved. They may not realize it at the moment, but they would in the long run. Naruto wasn't worth anyone's tears, not that anyone would grieve for him, they would all be glad that the fox demon was gone. Naruto could almost feel the peace he always longed for. It was almost in his grasp all he had to do was reach out and take it.

The longer Itachi sat there the more he didn't like the look in Naruto's eyes. This was a kid with a plan which made him that much more dangerous to himself. Itachi had the feeling he was going to have his work cut out for him. He wondered again why the Hokage had wanted him for the job. If Naruto was determined to end things, Itachi wasn't sure that he could stop him. Don't give up so quickly Itachi thought as he climbed to his feet. They needed to get back on the road as soon as possible. Naruto would need help with healing his injuries and his seal.

"Do you need assistance or do you think you can walk?" Itachi asked.

"I can walk" Naruto replied though he knew the journey would be difficult to say the least.

"Stupid fox" Naruto muttered under his breath, before starting down the trail after Itachi. He didn't like the fact that Kisame and Deidara were behind him. He didn't trust them; not to hurt him, and not to derail his plans. Whatever it took Naruto had to succeed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gaara will be in the story, but at this point the kazekage is whoever it was before Garra took over, he may end up taking the position early depending on how this situation develops in the story. Thanks for reading!


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